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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. ball — a great time
  3. clip — a video
  4. root — of a word
  5. clip — for paper
  6. root — of a plant
  7. staff — employees
  8. clip — to cut
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. fall — the season
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. staff — a stick
  15. staff — employees
  16. fall — to drop
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. fall — to drop
  20. root — the cause
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. dip — to sink
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — a young animal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com